Internal-combustion engine.



PATENTED MAY 12, 1908. S. H., P. H.. & W. G. HEGlNBOTTOM. INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION TILED DEO.2. 1907.

Il l ill/lullin l ATTORNEY UNiTED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

- SAMUEL H. HEGINBOTTOM, FRANK H. HEGINBOTTOM, AAND WALTER G. HEGINBOTTOM, O F

. SAGINAW, MICHIGAN.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Ratent.

Patented May 12, 1908.

Application filed December 2, 1907. Serial No. 404,667.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL H. HEGIN- BOTTOM, FRANK H. HEGINBOTTOM, and'WAL- ments in Internal-Combustion Engines; and

we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will/enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to means for controlling the speed of such engines by reglulating the amount of fuel admitted to the cy "nder, one object attained being the absolute regulation of the speed of such engines without moving the carbureter or other valve controlling the supply of fuel to the engine, our invention being preferably applied to `the closed crank base type of en 'ne Hitherto it has been customary to c eck down the engine by shuttin off the valve controlling the supply of fue to the engine n I I "checked down to, but with our invention a generally at the carbureter (in that class of engines using a hydrocarbon gas or vapor) by doing which a less amount of fuel is drawn into the crank base and expelled into the combustion chamber. ,Such action, however, results in backfiring in the closed crank base, because as the piston makes its inward stroke, it creates a vacuum within the crank base which is not replenished by any fresh incoming charge (the carbureter or other valve bein checked down or even entirely closed) an hence when the small charge in the cylinder is ex loded, and the iston driven outward on t e power stroke, t eexploded gases) will be drawn down into the crank base and ignite the gas therein.

By means of our invention, backfiring is absolutel avoided and until the engine is com letelj sto ed there may be a continuous eed of fuefrom the source of supply to the crank base.

. Hitherto it wasim ossible tov run a twocycle engine at anyt 'ng approaching the low speedto which the four-cycle can be two-cycle engine can be reduced to a hundred revolutions a minute or less Without misring and the speed of revolution can be controlled and regulated with ease and despatch.'

Our invention also attains other obj ects and consists of novel features and combinations,

all of which will be more fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a single cylinder engine equipped with one form of our invention; Fig. 2 is a detail cross sectional view of one means for adjustingthe piston relative to the cylinder; and Fig. 3 is a de-- tail end view of the eccentric split sleeves.

After considerable study and in view of the experience of others, it became plain to 'us that a perfect control of the speed of a twocycle internal combustion engine could be obtained either by adjusting the engine cylinder relative to the iston and crank shaft or vice versa, by a justing the crank shaft and piston relative to the cylinder to re ulate the amount of fuel enterin the cylin er. While it is possible to a just the cylinder and its ports relative to the piston, it is less cumbersome to adjust the piston and crank shaft relative to the cylinder and is much more easil operated. In brief, then we'have devise ameans for adjusting the piston and crank shaft relative to the cylinder so asto cause the piston on its outward or power stroke to uncover the inlet p'ort of the cylinder more or less com letely to admit a greater or less amount of el to, the combustion chamber and thus check or increase the speed of revolution of the crank shaft.'

The adjustment of the piston ma be accomplished in a variety of ways, suc for instance, as by mounting the -crank shaft in sliding boxes controlled in an suitable manner, but we prefer to us'e the ollowin mechanism as being the easiest with whic to attain the ends desired..

Mounted in the journals (1) projecting from the crank base (2) are a air of eccentric split sleeves (3)(3) rotatab e in the journals and provided with the peri heral ribs (5) (5) received in the usual Ba bitt metal bearing (6), the ribs reventing endwise movement of the split s eeve bushing. The sleeves are each rovided with corresponding half bearings or receiving the ends of the crankshaft (7), the crank shaft being supit'may be, of the base is equipped, with a controlling lever (10) and a crank (11), a link (12) connecting the crank (11) and arm (4), whereby to swln the latter through an arc limited bythe ength of the slot (8). Hence it will be seen that by swinging the lever (10) in one direction or the other, the crank shaft (7) is raised or lowered in the arc Y of a circle to raise or lower the pliston (13) connected by a rod (14) to the aft (7) in lany convenient manner.

The engine is of the usual closed crank base type, a fuel supply (not shown) communicating with the crank base through a port (15), a passage (16) leadin the charge from the crank base to the cy inder, such passage at its point of communication withl the cylinder termmatin in a ort (17) controlled by the piston. n a p ane above the inlet port (I7) is the exhaust ort (18) like- 'Wise covered and uncovered y the piston. When a charge is exploded in the c linder the piston is at or near its inward limit of movement andcovering or closing exhaust pprt (18) and inlet port (17) andl uncovering el inlet port (15) as hereinafter `set forth.

flhe explosion drives the piston outward on` its ower stroke, the

piston rst covering the fue inlet port (15) and then uncovering the exhaust port and the inlet port (17 in succession, the products of combustion and spent ases being permitted to escape from t e cy inder in the usual manner before the new charge is admitted, such charge being forced into the passage (16) and out through port (17) by reason of the compression of Vthe gas in the crank base-caused by the outward movement of the piston. 0n its succeeding inward or suction' stroke the piston rst covers the inlet port (17) and then the exhaust port (18) finally uncovering the fuel inlet port (15) so that the vacuum created in the crank base by the instroke can be replenished by fuel gas drawn in through the port (15).

It is obvious that the en ine operates in the usual manner and that W at the limit of its outstroke its u er end just uncovers the inlet port (17). ow,` by adjusting the piston eitherinthe manner heretofore set forth or in any other suitable manner, it can be so arranged that its upper edge wlll not qiliite clear the inlet port (17), thus hmiting t e amount of the fresh charge admitted to the cylinder and reducing the speed en the piston is senese ofthe engine without manipulating the carbureter or other valve (not shown) controlling the fuel supply to port (l5) and in fact, the piston may be so adjusted as not to uncover the inlet port (17) at all and thereby shut down the englne.

It is obvious that our invention can be applied to two, four, six, or any number of cylinder engines and that the piston' can be adjusted while the engine is in operation.

Another feature is that in a two-cycle engine, making a large number of revolutions a minute, the time between the uncovering and covering of the inlet port (17) by the piston is the merest fraction of a second.

Hence, in order to permit the entrance of a 4 full charge to the cylinder it is customary to cause the piston to travel on its outstroke to a point I somewhat below the Now lainly, by raising the piston toward the et ort by our adjusting means, even though t e piston on its outward limit of movement does not overlap the port, the time during whichthe port remains ope'n would be reduced so that a checking down of the engine would occur.

Our main invention is directed to the idea of so adjusting the piston and cylinder one relative to the otherl as to decrease or increase the speed of the engine by varying or controlling the amount of thev charge entering through the inlet opening covered and uncovered by the piston.

It is evident that changes mi ht be made in the form and arrangement o the several parts described and that other means than that specifically set forth herein mi ht be used to accomplish the adjustment of t e cylinder and piston.

Having thus fully disclosed our invention,

what we claim as' new isinlet port. Y

1. The combination with a cylinder having an inlet port and a piston adapted to open and close said port, of means for adjusting the cylinder and piston, one relative to the other to vary the amount of charge admitted to the cylinder lthrough the inlet port.

2. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, a piston adapted to cover and uncover the port, and means for adjusting the piston relatlve to the inlet port to vary the amount of charge admitted to the cylinder through the port. 3. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, a piston in the cylinder ada ted to close and open the port, a crank sha t,-means connectmg the piston and crank shaft, and means for adj ust' the crankshaft and piston relative to the et port to vary the amount of charge admitted to the cylinder. Y

4. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, a plston in the cylinder, adapted to control the port, a crank shaft, means connecting the plston iso , of a circle to vary the relation between the eer/,ese

and crank shaft, rotatable members in which j the crank shaft is eccentrically journaled, j and means for rotating the members through the arc of a circle to vary the relation of the piston and inlet port.

5. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, ajpiston in the cylinder adapted to control the port, a crank shaft, means connecting the piston and crank shaft, journals through which the crank shaft extends, rotatable members received in the journals, means for preventing endwise movement of the rotatable members, the crank shaft eccentrically journaled in the members, and means for rotating the members to vary the relation of the piston and inlet port.

6. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, a piston in the cylinder adapted to control the port, a crank shaft, means connecting the piston and crank shaft, journals through which the crank shaft extends, rotatable members received in the journals, ribs on the rotatable members received in grooves in the journals for preventing endwise movement of the rotatable members, the crank shaft eccentrically journaled in the members, and means for rotating the members to vary the relation ofthe piston and inlet port.

7 An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, a piston in the cylinder, adapted to control the port, a crank shaft, means connecting the piston and crank shaft, split sleeves rotatably mounted in the engine, in Whichsleeves the crank shaft is eccentrically journaled, and means for rotating the split sleeves in the arc piston and the inlet port.

8. An internal combustion engine comprisfing a cylinder having an inlet port, a plston crank shaft, means connecting the piston and crank shaft, rotatable sleeves in which the crank shaft is eccentrically journaled, arms projecting from the rotatable sleeves, and

means for swinging the arms to rotate the sleeves and vary the relation between the piston and inlet port.

9. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, a piston in the cylinder 'adapted to control the port, a crank shaft with which the piston is connected, journals on the engine, the journals being slotted, sleeves rotatably received in the journals, the crank shaft eccentrically mounted in the sleeves, arms projecting from the sleeves, through the "slots, a rock-shaft, cranks on the shaft, a lever controlling the shafthand links connecting the arms and cranks.

10. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, a piston in the cylinder ada ted to control the port, a crank shaft wit which the piston is connected, journals on the engine, the journals being slotted, rotatable sleeves received in the journals, the crank shaft eccentrically mounted-in the sleeves, arms rojecting from the sleeves through the s ots, and means for swinging the farms to vary the relation between the plston and inlet pibrt.

11. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port, a piston controlling the port, and means for adjusting the piston and cylinder one relative to the other, to vary the speed of the engine. 12. A two-cycle engine comprising a cylinder having an inlet port therein, a piston adapted to cover and uncover the inlet port, a crank-shaft with which the piston is connected, rotatable bearings in which the shaft SAMUEL H. HEGINBOTTOM. FRANK H.'HEGINBOTTOM. WALTER G. HEGIN BOTTOM.

Witnesses:

RALPH S. WARFIELD, GEO. B. W ILLeoX. 

